Rodgers heaps on the praise, but the points were his. For Lambert it's all about City's bouncebackability now…

Swans boss Brendan Rodgers was happy to dish out the compliments after yesterday’s events at The Liberty – as well he might; he’d just won the game of the day 3-0.

It left his Swansea side breathing down Norwich’s neck with just six games of the season to go.

It will be a test of everyone’s nerves between now and May 7; the Canaries bid to return to winning ways at Watford on Tuesday night after firing blanks at the Swans.

They can take a little comfort from the fact that Rodgers was taking huge heart from this weekend’s success; if nothing else, it demonstrated the level of respect with which Paul Lambert’s Canaries are now held.

“You can see why Norwich are up there – they’re a fantastic side,” Rodgers told the BBC after yesterday’s big victory for the South Wales side.

With near-neighbours and fierce rivals Cardiff also winning away at Doncaster Rovers, Swansea could not afford to slip up against their Norfolk visitors.

Try as Norwich might and they simply could not find the Swans net; if you don’t take chances, you don’t win matches. It’s as simple as that.

Rodgers, in fairness, paid tribute to another passing side; he has long set out his stall to pass and pass and pass the ball – in that they are not wholly dissimilar to Lambert’s Canaries.

“There are very few teams in this league who go out to pass the ball – and they’re one of them,” he said.

“They’ve got a good structure and they make it difficult for you. But I thought after the first ten or 15 minutes – as soon as we got the goal – we were magnificent.”

It’s away from home where Swansea’s challenge has slipped of late – last week and they were losing 2-1 away at lowly Preston North End.

Hence why they could ill-afford to slip to a second successive defeat and see the Canaries slip seven points clear of them.

One point and little difference goals-wise ensures that it is all to play for going into the final run of games. This season could well go right down to the wire.

“Our away performances put more pressure on us at home, so if we’d have lost it then we were probably out of it – it’s as simple as that.

“But today I thought we were tactically strong; they play the diamond so you’ve got to be really organised as to how you defend; as to how you move as a unit, as a team. Good players like them [Norwich] can play through you and get in.

“But the edge was back in our game – both offensively and defensively.”

From a Norwich perspective, it was just ‘one of them’ – even if many were pointing a finger at Wes Hoolahan’s absence as significant.

That without the club’s principal playmaker – still struggling to shake off the hamstring strain picked up in the 6-0 win over Scunthorpe United – Norwich lacked that little bit of extra zip on the day.

Others might simply point a finger at the lack of a finish; nothing quite dropped – and when it did there was a Swans keeper in the way.

Lambert appeared wholly convinced that it was just ‘One of those…’ On other afternoons and evenings, goal No22 would fall for skipper Grant Holt.

“We tried everything we could to get the goals back,” said Lambert, who threw both Simeon Jackson and the on-loan Sam Vokes into the fray in a bid to turn the contest round.

The fact that the trip to Vicarage Road comes up so quickly was, said Lambert, a real blessing. No time for anyone to get over-maudlin’ about one, off result.

“That’s the beauty of it,” he said. “I know it’s another really hard game; another away game – but hopefully we can bounce right back – and then we have to go again on Friday night against Nottingham Forest.”

It promises to be yet another week of high drama for all concerned. After that, there’s only the small matter of a trip down the road to look forward to.

Buckle up – and don’t go anywhere. It could well be quite a ride…